Barefoot Running

Two sides of a very hot topic.

RW Theoretically, barefoot running should be faster because you don't carry any weight on your feet. Have you found this to be the case?

SAXTON If it helps you run all the way instead of walking, which was my situation, then it will definitely make you faster. When I first started racing 10-Ks barefoot, I was breaking 40 minutes. Before that, in shoes, I couldn't break 40. So for me, it has been faster, though I'm getting older and slower now. In our barefoot running community, we have found mixed results. A lot of our people are older runners who have had injuries, so they're not so concerned about speed. They're enjoying the fact that they can run more without injuries. In some cases, that gets them in better shape, and then they can run faster in races.

KIRBY In my personal experience, back in my cross-country days at UC Davis, we would sometimes run mile repeats around a grassy baseball field. I found I could run about five seconds per mile faster without shoes. A couple of research studies have shown that you can run about three percent faster barefoot than in 12-ounce shoes because of the weight reduction. So barefoot running is certainly more economical. The question is: What can the runner tolerate? Are you willing to take the risk of going barefoot? How about racing flats that weigh six ounces each? That might be a reasonable middle ground for some.

RW In Born to Run, Chris McDougall argues that modern-day running shoes have done nothing to prevent injuries and that barefoot running might be the answer. Your thoughts?

KIRBY I've been running for 40 years, and I lecture on biomechanics internationally, and I just don't think we have any studies to support that. It's ridiculous to claim that running shoes are the cause of injuries. It's the act of running that causes injuries—the hard surfaces, hitting the ground with two to three times your body weight. Those forces are going to cause injuries whether shoes are involved or not.

SAXTON I've met or been in contact with hundreds of runners who would not be running today if they had to run in the available shoes. Shoes might not be causing the injuries, but they're not preventing them the way the companies represent themselves through their marketing. The Born to Run book has encouraged a lot of runners to try to defy injuries with barefoot running or minimalist shoes. That's a plus, but it can also be a bad thing if people get too excited. They might go out and do more than they're ready for. Then, either from lack of foot strength or from not having learned good running technique yet, they get hurt.